December 25, 2009, marks the 100th birthday anniversary of Gleb Lozino-Lozinsky, chief designer at the Molniya research and production center and principal... 28.12.2009, Sputnik International
December 25, 2009, marks the 100th birthday anniversary of Gleb Lozino-Lozinsky, chief designer at the Molniya research and production center and principal designer of the Buran reusable orbital spacecraft.
December 25, 2009, marks the 100th birthday anniversary of Gleb Lozino-Lozinsky, chief designer at the Molniya research and production center and principal designer of the Buran reusable orbital spacecraft.
December 25, 2009, marks the 100th birthday anniversary of Gleb Lozino-Lozinsky, chief designer at the Molniya research and production center and principal designer of the Buran reusable orbital spacecraft.
The Soviet reentry spacecraft was intended for a variety of military missions, including: launching satellites into orbit and providing maintenance support for them, delivering modules and personnel into space for the assembly of large structures and interplanetary vehicles, returning malfunctioning or outdated satellites back to Earth, mastering extraterrestrial production and the delivery of finished products to Earth, as well as other Earth-Space-Earth cargo and passenger delivery missions.
The development of the Buran took over 10 years. In 1976, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the U.S.S.R. and the Council of Ministers issued a resolution to create a reusable space system. The shuttle Energia/Buran system was comprised of the Energia Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle, the Buran orbiter and ground facilities for pre-flight processing, launch and mission control.
A new enterprise, the Molniya research and production center, was established to develop the Buran airframe. The Tushino mechanical engineering plant in Moscow was selected as the main production facility for the project. Gleb Lozino-Lozinsky, who worked on the Spiral Reusable Aerospace System back in the 1960’s, was appointed head of the new enterprise. Pictured: The Energia/Buran reusable space system on a launch pad at the Baikonur Space Center in 1988.
The Buran airframe and equipment incorporated new engineering solutions, up-to-date materials and devices including onboard computers. Special software and new technology were developed to meet the orbiter’s needs. Pictured: The Buran reentry spacecraft upon landing at the Baikonur Space Center after orbiting Earth twice in 1988.
By 1984, the first full-scale Buran orbiter was ready. The vehicle had a variable sweep delta wing, a rudder and elevons ensuring controlled reentry and landing with a cross range of up to 2,000 km.
The Buran had a length of 36.4 meters, wingspan of around 24 meters and height (on landing gear) of over 16 meters. The launch weight exceeded 100 tons, including 14 tons of fuel. The roomy cargo section could accommodate a payload of up to 30 tons. The nose section housed a sealed all-welded shell with over 70 cubic meters of inner space for the crew and the bulk of the flight control equipment. Pictured: The winged tandem of an Antonov An 225 Mriya heavy-lift cargo aircraft and the Buran orbiter en route to France with a stopover in Kiev for the Le Bourget Air Show in 1989.
An important feature of the Buran was its reliable heat insulation, which provided normal temperature conditions for the orbiter during atmosphere reentry. The thermal protection cover included around 38,000 precision-manufactured tiles made of silica fiber, heat-resistant organic fiber and a carbon-based material depending on each piece’s position on the orbiter’s body. Pictured: An Antonov An-225 Mriya carrying a Buran spacecraft in 1989.
Despite its external resemblance to the U.S. Space Shuttle, the Buran had one fundamental distinguishing difference – it could make a fully automatic landing, while its American equivalent had to be steered by an operator on the ground. The Buran was also fitted with crew escape equipment. At a low altitude, the first two pilots would be ejected; while in case of emergency at a high altitude, the Buran could split off the carrier rocket to perform an emergency landing. Pictured: U.S. congressmen and U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet members near a Buran reusable space vehicle at the Baikonur Space Center in August 1989.
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